Improvement in cigar-presses



NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM P, SMITH, OF QUAKERSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN CIGAR-PRESSES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 163,272, dated May 11, 1875; application filed March 3, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM P. SMITH, of Quakerstown, Bucks county, State of Pennsylvania, have invented an Improvement in GigacPresses, of which the following is a specification:

The object of my invention is to so press cigars that they shall be of square form, each cigar being subjected to both vertical and lateral pressure; and this object I attain in the manner I will now proceed to describe, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which Figure 1 is a vertical section of my cigarpressing device; Fig. 2, a plan view of one of the trays as it appears beforethe cigars are pressed laterally; and Fig. 3, a view of the tray after the cigars have been compressed.

A, Fig. 2, is a'flat board, of uniform thickness, and to this board are secured the permanent parallel strips a, and between each pair of strips are two tapering arms, I), each arm being hinged at its inner or thick end by a pin, ac, to the board A. Springs on tend to maintain the arms of each pair in contact with each other. The permanent strips and arms are all of the same thickness. D is a bar, to which are secured the thick ends of the wedges d, all of which are of the same thickness as, or slightly thinnerthan, the permanent strips and hinged arms of the tray A, and the wedges are so arranged in respect to each other, and to the arms, that they can be forced between the latter, each wedge between one pair of arms, as shown in Fig. 3, in which case one side of each arm will be parallel with the adjoining permanent strip.

The newly-made cigars, while in a damp condition, are placed one cigar between each permanent strip and the adjoining tapering arm of each tray, and the trays, thus furnished with cigars, are placed one upon another and beneath the follower E of a suitable press, Fig. l, a plain board, f, intervening between the uppermost tray and the follower, which is now screwed down until the several trays are in contact with each other, the cigars being thereby flattened above and below, after which the wedges are forced between the hinged arms of each tray, thereby compressing the opposite sides of each cigar, which is 7 thus reduced to the desired square shape.

After the cigars have remained under this vertical and lateral pressure until they are partially dried, the trays are removed from the press, the wedges withdrawn from between the arms, and the cigars removed from the trays to make way for another series of crude cigars.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of the tray, consisting of the board A, its permanent strips, and hinged arms, with wedges d, and pressureplate f.

2. The combination of the permanent strips a, hinged arms b, springs m, and wedges for operating on the hinged arms.

3. The bar D, with its wedges d, arranged in respect to, and combined with, the hinged arms b of the tray and its strips, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM 1?. SMITH. Witnesses:

AARON W. HARING, WILLIAM HARWIGK. 

